Cotton-boll breaker and cleaner



WITNESS v v fizuypatoig 1,678,210 F. B. CUMPSTQN COTTON BOLL BREAKER AND CLEANER July 24., 1928.

Filed April 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS F. B. CUMPSTON COTTON BOLL BREAKER AND CLEANER July 24, 1928.

Filed April 20, 1926' 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 AN w INVENTOR 11B. Cum 256027,

ATTORNEYS /ZMM Patented July 24, 1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK B. CUMPSTON, OF BLOCKING GROVE, TEXAS. i

COTTON-BULL BREAKER AND CLEANER.

Application filed April 20, 1926. Serial No. 103,343.

My present invention relates to cotton boll breakers and cleaners, and my primary object is the provision of an apparatus employing a series of heaters, together with means whereby the bolls and cotton are caused to travel along the tops of the heaters, and subjected during this movement to the breaking and cleaning action of the heaters, and then caused to pass in the opposite direction along the lower portions of the heaters, and also subjected to their action and influence during this latter movement.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a plurality of retarding elements located so that the unopened bolls will be cast against said elements by the heaters, whereby said bolls will be broken open and the cotton liberated from the bar.

A still further object is-the provision of an apparatus by means of which cotton at ready in a clean state may be bypassed directly through theapparatus without the unnecessary delay of its passage along the heaters in the two directions above mentioned.

1n the accompanying drawings which illustrate my present invention and form a part of this specification Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section taken at an approximately central point through the apparatus embodying my invention' Figure 2 is a horizontal section with parts removed for the sake of clearness, and,

Figure 3 is a partial side view showing the driving connections between the heater shafts.

Referring now to these figures, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,.my invention puroses a cotton cleaner including a casing 10 having an inlet 11 at the upper portion of one end and having an outlet 12 at the lower portion of the same end, the; casing being. divided horizontally to form an upper opcrating chamber 13 and a lower dust chamher 1%, between which chambers'a screen 15 is extended.

The screen 15 is so supported by transverse supporting members 16 as to form a plurality of concaves 17 below the several heaters 18 and the dust and dirt falling through the screen 15 into the dust chamber 1% is carried ofi by a lower conveyor 19 operatingin the base of the dust chamber.

The heaters 18 are arranged in a lengthwise series upon transverse shafts 20, within the operating chamber 13, the first heater at one end of the series being disposed below a portion of the inlet 11 to receive cotton and bolls downwardly thereon when the cotton and boll deflector plate 21, within one end of the operating chamber, is shifted to one angular position across one side of the inlet, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. The deflector plate 21 just above mentioned is hinged at its lower edge to a cross piece 22 below the center of the inlet 11 and the deflector plate 21 is manually shiftahle from one side shown in full lines in Fig. 1, for deflecting the cotton and bolls on to the heaters to the other position shown in dotted lines w ere the cotton is deflected directly from the inletv 11 to the outlet 12, this posit1on constituting the bypass position of the deflector plate.

The several heaters 18 have radially outstanding arms as shown and it will he noted in particularhy reference to Fig. 2 that each beater has a circular series of such arms at spaced points along the length of its shaft 20 and that these arms are so spaced and the several heaters of the series or rather their shafts 20, so related that the radially outstanding arms of each of the heaters throughout the series overlap so that the cotton and bolls descending through the inlet 11 on to the heater 18 at one end of the series, will be prevented from passage through the heaters. This results from the overlapping relation of the radially outstanding arms of the heaters, and as the heaters are in practice rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, it is obvious that the cotton and bolls will be thrown upwardly by each heater and will he thus passed from one heater to the other throughout the series until the opposite end 23 of the casing 10 is reached where the cotton will he carried downwardly hy-the adjacent beater on to the'screen 15 and shifted therealong by the successive heaters until the outlet 12 is reached.

In the passage of the cotton and bolls ries, and in such action the unopened bolls are broken and smaller particles of dirt and foreign matter are loosened and fall from the cotton downwardly through the beaters and through the screen 15 into the dust compartment 14, where they are finally discharged by means of the conveyor 19.

Cotton and unopened bolls are delivered to the inlet 11 by a suction pipe 25, witha portion of which an air exhausting pipe 26 adjacent to the casing 10, communicates through a reticulate diaphragm 27 from which the cotton is fed downwardly through the inlet by a rotating feed member 28.

It is obvious that by shifting the deflector plate 21, cotton already in a clean state free from bolls may be by-passeddirectly through the outlet 12 from which the cotton is directed to any suitable receptacle and it is likewise obvious that when the deflector plate is shifted to the other position, or in other words to the full line position of Fig. 1, the cotton and bolls are fed downwardly on to the heaters. The cotton and bolls are then shifted along the upper portions of the heaters and the unopened bolls are thrown upwardly by each beater against one of the breaker bars 24 and then finally at the outer end of the series of beaters the cotton is carried downwardly on to the screen 15 and then shifted along the series of heaters and below the same in the opposite direction to the outlet 12. During both of these movements of the cotton and bolls, that is, along both the upper and lower portions of the heaters, the cotton and bolls are constantly subjected to the breaking and cleaning action induced by its agitation and separation and my improved cotton apparatus is for the above reasons highly efiicient and effective in use and is obviously of economical construction and will be strong and durable.

The breaking of unopened bolls is one of the important features of the invention. It will be seen that when a boll is thrown up against one of the bars 24 by the beater arms, if it should not be broken open and falls, it will be caught up by the arms of the next forward beater and cast up against the next forward bar and so on until it is broken open and the cotton liberated from the bur. By this action the bolls are prevented from falling down between the heaters; also the seed cotton is blanketed along the topsof the beaters and does not get down between the arms and choke the apparatus. Of

course finer particles of dirt, leaf trash and broken burs will fall between the beaters, to some extent, but most of this matter will be removed during the movement under the beaters and over the screens 15. From this it is apparentthat during the travel of the cotton and bolls over the beaters, a breaking and liberating action predominates, while during the return travel or passage under the heaters, a cleaning and separating action predominates. The larger particles of the burs pass out with the cotton. The beaters may be run at various speeds and where there are a greater number of bolls, the speed is increased.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the shafts 20 of the several beaters project to one side 03% the casing 10 and are provided with pulleys, these pulleys being connected by a belt 30 as in Fig. 3, having tensioning members 31 engaging the same between the several pulleys 29. The beater shaft 20 at the inner end of the series also has its opposite end extended and provided with a pulley 32 which may be belt connected to any suitable source of. power, but any suitable driving arrangement may be used.

I claim:

1. A cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus including a casing having an upper inlet and a lower outlet at the same end, a series of beaters therein arranged to receive unopened bolls and cotton from said inlet upon the upper portions of the beaters at one end of the series, a series of breaker bars arranged above and between the beaters, means for imparting rotation to the beaters whereby to cause the same to throw the bolls and cotton upwardly against the breaker bars and from one beater to the other throughout the series, and a screen below the series of beaters extending to the outlet of the casing and along which the cotton and trash are pushed by the lower portions of the heaters.

2. A cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus including a casing having an upper inlet and a lower outlet at the same end,

a series of beaters therein arranged to receive unopened bolls and cotton from said inlet upon the upper portions of the heaters at one end of the series, a series of breaker bars arranged above and between the heaters, means for imparting rotation to the beaters whereby-to cause the same to throw the bolls and cotton upwardly against the breaker bars and from one beater to the other throughout the series, a screen below the series of beaters extending to the outlet of the casing and along which the cotton and trash are pushed by the lower portions of the beaters, said beaters having outstanding arms arranged relatively to one another in overlapping relation whereby to prevent falling of the bolls and cotton between the heaters as described.

3. A cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus including a casing having an upper inlet and a lower outlet at one end, an upper series of breaker bars, a series of beaters arranged to carry unopened bolls and cotton along the tops thereof from said inlet and throw the unopened bolls against the breaker bars during such movement, and a screen along and below the beaters and along which the cotton is pushed in the opposite direction by said heaters to the outlet.

4. ln a cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus, a casing having its inlet and outlet at the same end, a series of heaters disposed longitudinally of the casing, the casing having a continuous passage extending from the inlet over, around and under the heaters to the outlet, boll breaking elements in the passage above the heaters, and screens contiguous to the passage below the heaters.

5. In a cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus, a casing, impelling elements dis posing longitudinally of the casing intermeshing to prevent the cotton bolls from falling therebetween, boll breaking elements in the casing above and in the path of the bolls cast up by the impelling elements, and screens under the impelling elements, the casing being closed at one end, whereby a continuous passage is provided above and below the impelling elements.

6. In a cotton boll breaking and cleaning apparatus, a casing, impelling elements disposing longitudinally of the casing interrneshing to prevent the cotton bolls from falling therebetween, boll breaking elements in the casing above and in the path of the bolls cast up by the impelling elements,

screens under the impelling elements, the casing being closed at one end, whereby a continuous passage is provided above and below the impelling elements, and a deflector valve at the inlet end of the casing for controlling the feeding of cotton and bolls to the passage of the casing.

7. A. cotton boll breaking and cleaning machine comprising a series of closely intermeshing spider rolls, means for delivering cotton bolls on the tops of said rolls, a casing surrounding the series of rolls, leaving an entrance and exit, breaker bars mounted on the top inside surface of the casing and adapted to suddenly stop cotton projected against them, a screen below the series of rolls of such a mesh as to allow the trash to drop through it and retain the cotton, the arrangement ofcasing and screen being such that the path of the cotton and trash is reversed at the end of the rolls furthest from the entrance end for the cotton, the trash and cotton being returned toward the entry end by the action of the rolls along the screen bottom, and power means for driving the rollers and cotton delivery means.

8. A cotton boll breaking and cleaning machine comprising an elongated casing having an inlet and an outlet at one end thereof only, means for feeding holly cotton from the inlet to the opposite end of the casing and returning the same to the outlet for discharge from the casing, means for checking the initial travel of the holly cotton through the casing and causing a breaking open of the bolls for liberating the cotton fiber therefrom, and means for separating dust and the finer portions of the broken bolls from the liberated cotton in the return movement of the latter through the casing for discharge from the said outlet.

9. A cotton boll breaking and cleaning machine comprising an elongated casing having an inlet and an outlet at one end thereof only, means for feeding holly cotton horizontally in reversed directions through the casing between the inlet and the outlet, meansifor successively checking the initial travel of the holly cot-ton through the casing and causing a breaking open of the bolls'for liberating the cotton fiber therefrom, means tor separating dust and the finer portions of the broken bolls from the liberated cotton in the reversed movement of the latter through the casing to the said outlet, and means for closing said inlet to thecasing, whereby the supply of bolly cotton will be diverted from the casing and passed directly to the outlet.

FREDERICK B. CUMPSTON. 

